What’s New In The Skagit Habitat Store?

Believe it or not, at least on the calendar, Spring is just around the corner. So too is one more visit to Orcas Island by the Skagit Habitat for Humanity Store truck. The truck and volunteer drivers will be at Island Market parking lot again (thanks for your support) on Monday the 6th of March from 9:30 AM to noon. Please look at the list of things they will be allowed to accept by going to the Store’s website before you load things into your vehicle. Use “acceptible-and-not-acceptible-items-for-donation” to find this list.

“We really appreciate the growing cooperation that has developed between the Skagit Habitat Store and Orcas Recycling Services over the past three years,” said Pete Moe, Executive Director of ORS. “While we’ve been without the Exchange, Skagit Habitat has provided islanders with an opportunity to donate good things that can be reused by others. With a new Exchange just over the horizon, we’ll see less of the Habitat truck, but anticipate continuing our relationship with them as the situation offers.”

“If you have questions about the Skagit Habitat truck, the schedule, or what might be donated, please call Duff at 376-3032. He is our local point of contact for Skagit Habitat for Humanity, as well as the volunteer coordinator for the Exchange. You can also reach him at tpiduff@nullhotmail.com.”

A big “THANK YOU!” to everyone that made our first Black Friday Sale such a success! Whether you were in the Store getting a fantastic deal on a piece of furniture or were on the ground volunteering and helping our wonderful (and patient) customers; YOU helped to make a difference for a family in need here in Skagit County. This sale was a trial run for us as we normally close on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But this year we wanted to offer our customers one day of incredible savings, and it seemed to work out well for everyone.

As a matter of fact, we set a single day sales record on November 25th and I can say that I have never seen the Store so busy. We had a good sized line outside the door by the time we opened at 10:00am with customers coming as far away as Yakima. Both registers were going full steam most of the day and lines moved at a steady pace. Luckily the weather held out and we were able to get sold items out the door almost immediately, leaving the sales floor with some much needed floor space.

Another “THANK YOU” goes out to everyone that had to search for a parking spot. The top lot was filled very quickly, with some customers lining up as early as 9:00pm on Thursday night. Customers arriving later had to park farther down the lot, near the trail head. Everyone did a great job allowing space for other customers to pull in and out of the parking field. You can see just how busy the parking lot was in the photo below.

With such a successful event, you can bet we will be running another Black Friday sale in 2017 and beyond. And with ideas that we have gleaned from this sale we hope to provide everyone with a more exciting and enjoyable experience next year.

Print this coupon and bring into Store to give to cashier with your purchase to support Skagit Habitat for Humanity’s National Women Build Week in partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse.

In the past many years, residents of Orcas Island have used their home-grown “Exchange” as a place to recycle useable items that might have gone into a landfill without the Exchange. About two years ago, the Exchange burned completely, and since then islanders have either had to haul recyclables off island, throw them into the landfill bins, or hang onto them. None of those options was very satisfying.

A year ago, one of our long-time volunteer families moved to Orcas Island, and learned of the Exchange situation. Skagit HFH offered to bring our Store truck to Orcas on a test basis to pick up donations. This began last spring and the response was extremely positive. Islanders turned out to such an extent that the truck was full to the brim on more than one trip. They really appreciated the opportunity to put their recyclable items to good use.

The effort to reopen the Exchange on Orcas Island has continued, and it looks like it will finally be back in operation in late 2015. Until then, the SHFH Store will consider coming back to Orcas to serve islanders and recycle donations. There is no regular schedule, but we try to meet the needs of the islanders when it fits well with the operation of our Store. During these visits, we have found out that Orcas residents are generally unaware that Habitat for Humanity has a retail Store in Skagit County (they seem to be well aware of the Store in Whatcom County.) The presence of our Skagit Store truck helps create awareness of our own Store–a more convenient location when coming off the ferry.